Vernon Kay looks ahead to this Sunday night’s contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, which will be shown live on Channel 4.

The Panthers lead the way in the NFC South with two wins from their opening two games this season. The Steelers, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from their heavy loss against AFC North rivals Baltimore last Thursday.

I’m very excited to have a first look at the Panthers on Channel 4 this season for one reason– Cam Newton (if he plays). He is too big a player to risk but on the flip side he is too big a player not to have in the game.

Ever since we saw a first glimpse of Cam at Auburn, when he won the National Championship in college, he excited a lot of people in the NFL. He was the start of this new breed of quarterback that it seems RG3 has made famous – being able to run and pass. But I think Newton was the originator for this breed. If you watch the way he plays, with confidence and a smile on his face, that’s why it’s always exciting to see him on our screens.

Carolina are 2-0 at the moment, and if head coach Ron Rivera can carry on the momentum from last season then they’ve got a real chance of getting into the play-offs. Atlanta are strong as well. They absolutely destroyed the Buccaneers on Thursday night, and I think the Buccaneers will struggle this year.

Cam Newton reacts after throwing a touchdown during the impressive dismantling of the Detroit Lions

Newton celebrates with Panthers fans after victory over Detroit which took the Panthers to 2-0

But the surprise in that division is the Saints. It’s not like them to start off 0-2 and go on a losing streak straight from the off. But I think it gives Carolina a real opportunity to make some headway in the division and then into the play-offs. If Newton can get fit and stay fit, then they have a great chance.

My only concern is that they use Greg Olsen as their primary receiver since the loss of Steve Smith – who joined the Baltimore Ravens. Their go-to receiver is a tight end and it’s debatable whether that can be the case. We’ve seen it with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in New England, and with Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham in New Orleans, but I think Carolina will miss having a go-to wide receiver. Cam likes to scramble out of the pocket and that is a great bonus for the receivers because it draws the defensive backs down to the line of scrimmage. With Cam’s scrambling ability, it gives the wide receivers the opportunity to stay wide open.

For the Panthers to improve, they need to establish the run game. They have DeAngelo Williams at running back. He is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, which is good, but you need a solid run game. If you have a running game it asks questions of a defense and their ability to read the run and read the pass.

Greg Olsen (right) is used as a go-to receiver, and he attempts to evade the Lions' Stephen Tulloch

If fit, tailback DeAngelo Williams, who trained for the first time in a week on Friday, is a boon to the offense

SUNDAY FIXTURES (UK time)

San Diego at Buffalo, 6pm

Tennessee at Cincinnati, 6pm

Baltimore at Cleveland, 6pm

Green Bay at Detroit, 6pm

Indianapolis at Jacksonville, 6pm

Oakland at New England, 6pm

Minnesota at New Orleans, 6pm

Houston at New York Giants, 6pm

Washington at Philadelphia, 6pm

Dallas at St Louis, 6pm

San Francisco at Arizona, 9.05pm

Kansas City at Miami, 9.25pm

Denver at Seattle, 9.25pm

Pittsburgh at Carolina, 1.30am

On the defense, they have Luke Kuechly – what a player! He has got to be in the top three linebackers in the league. Kuechly is the new breed of defensive athlete. If you look at his physical build, he’s 238lbs and that is quite light for a linebacker. But he’s got fantastic speed, knows the game and can read the game very well.

I would definitely make the Panthers favourites to win the NFC South now. At the start of the season I would have gone for the Saints. But they lost their quarterback coach Joe Lombardi, who went to Detroit to become their offensive coordinator. Even with Drew Brees at quarterback they’ll struggle to catch up with the Panthers. If the Panthers can build momentum and get Newton fully fit, I would put money on them to win that division.

As for Pittsburgh, the loss to Baltimore was a tough game for everyone because of the Ray Rice situation. The atmosphere and build-up to the game wasn’t around football, it was on an off-field matter that took the shine off that game.

The hard-hitting Luke Kuechly (right) is the defensive rookie of the year and gets to grips with Calvin Johnson

The game on Sunday against the Panthers will be crucial for the Steelers to establish themselves. They need to get their running back Le’Veon Bell going. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry but I don’t think he looks confident. He’s also their second most successful receiver so they’re not going deep that much, they’re throwing it in the flat to the running backs.

Antonio Brown has had one touchdown for 206 yards so far which is not bad. The receptions are pretty much spread out between Brown (12), Bell (11) and Markus Wheaton (11). So you can tell what they’re trying to do with the passing game. But they need to get their running game going as well with Bell and there is something about him that looks a bit nervous.

The AFC North is the most ridiculous division ever because you have got bitter rivalries in this division. Being a Bolton Wanderers fan, it is like Bolton, Bury and Burnley. It’s that type of nitty-gritty division where they are all working-class towns and the football team is pivotal to the community.

Antonio Brown (centre) has been the Steelers' most successful receiver so far this season

Ben Roethlisberger has shed the pounds in the post-season and looks more mobile than in recent seasons

With the rise of the Bengals as well, they’ve had a great start. I don’t think it’s a surprise after they gave their quarterback Andy Dalton a massive boost by giving him a massive contract. It took the pressure off him and the team, not having to worry about having an established quarterback.

I always like the Ravens. With John Harbaugh as head coach, even though what they’ve gone through has been tricky for everyone involved with the franchise, I think they know how to win.

Big Ben looks like he’s worked really hard during the off-season. He’s still a big lad but hasn’t got that paunch and he looks as agile and mobile as ever. He is the key for the Steelers and I don’t think that will change for a long time.

Roethlisberger has a great relationship with head coach Mike Tomlin and they have got faith in him as a quarterback. If you look at his Super Bowl victories, I think he thrives under pressure. He can really pull it out of the bag when needed and that’s the type of player I like – one that’s got balls. Like John Elway had back in the 1980s, he never gave up.

Vernon Kay presents NFL: The American Football Show, Mondays at 11pm on Channel 4. This Sunday night Channel 4 will broadcast live coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Carolina Panthers